round up

dutch picture books from 1810 to 1950 via the always fabulous biblio odyssey...a fantastic resource full of inspiration. be prepared to spend some time here!

if you love libraries, then you'll love a peek at 20 of the world's most beautiful libraries...i haven't been to any of these. although i've made a promise to myself to visit the library of congress next fall.

some lovely illustrations by charles keeping on automatism.

werner herzog reads children's books...at coilhouse...one of my favorite magazines!

a great collection of images of marilyn monroe reading...at come spy with me.

learn how to make a clever hogwart's style spell book at instructibles! via folk and fairy.

have you seen novel teas? i must order some.

mrs. lilien style mrs. literary book club...i love the personal library kit...can one actually be that organized?

once upon a blog covers fairy tale news of all kinds...

and i'll be back on monday with some more books! have a great weekend.

merry christmas! and a round up

i meant to post this before the holiday...but i figure, better late than next year :)

merry christmas!
1943, alfred a. knopf, new york
illustrated by natasha simkhovitch

i'll be back in 2010...until then:

a wonderful collection of imaginary idol 'gigi gaston' ephemera by josh gosfield at steven kasher gallery...via boing boing.

once upon a blog... chronicles fairy tale relevent information...great stuff!

the lost pleasure of browsing...it's so true, i am on the wall about electronic readers, i love the tactile feel of a book and the whole bookstore experience...via the mccune collection...a collection of rare books and bookmaking objects, which now belongs to the city of vallejo, ca...via biblio odyssey.

between the covers an exhibition on "women's magazines and their readers"...via nothing elegant.

the 10 essential classics according to antler magazine.

bangkok rare books...if only i had millions!

design is mine explores the golden age of illustration in ten images.

answers to frequently asked questions about old books and their values at the american library association's rare books department.

more rare books...yale's beinecke library...columbia university's...and penn's.

when bad covers happen to good books and 100 notable books of 2009 both are via automatism (who always posts the best book links).

i've also added a bunch of new links to the sidebar!

happy new year <3

round up

the new york review of books talks about the lost pleasure of browsing...interesting to ponder, it's the same reason i haven't purchased a kindle...i just love the feel of a good book...via automatism.

the mccune collection is a fantastic collection of rare books including the kelmscott chaucer, a gorgeous version designed by william morris with woodcut illustrations by edward burne-jones...via bibliodyssey.

also via bibliodyssey is the truly lovely victorian blood book...which originally belonged to evelyn waugh. speaking of, have you read the loved one or seen the movie? so good!


luisa frascati by leopoldo lugones on the fantastic a journey round my skull.

book by its cover shares the new moomin book reprinted by drawn & quarterly.

a ton of interesting endpapers on drawger...via cafe cartolina.

book lovers never go to bed alone...a tumblr of people's bookshelves!

artist julianna swaney shares some inspirations on her blog rare bird...illustrations from the brambley hedge.

i've also added some new links to the sidebar:
we heart books * the new york review of books * bees knees reads * nordic voices * the mccune collection * children's illustration *

schlechte zeiten für gespenster

i mentioned on my other blog about doing a vampire related post here...partly due to halloween and partly because of the vampire explosion of late.
i love vampires and i love vampire literature, film, culture, etc...i even wrote my honor's thesis on vampirism is scandinavian folklore and blood drinking in viking history...truly weird, right?

my friends are always asking me if i like twilight or the vampire diaries...i read the first twilight book and it was alright (i preferred the movie). i do see the appeal to the young adult crowd, although i think i would've hated the whole thing when i was 14 (i was a vampire lit snob back in the day). i haven't read the vampire diaries books but i think the show is pretty good so far.

i love hbo's show true blood, as well as, charlaine harris' southern vampire series of books; which the show is based on (the show is very different from the books). it's good, light, page-turning reading and harris does an excellent job on character development. i'm addicted and if they could go on forever i would read them forever!

right now i'm reading laurell k. hamilton's anita blake: vampire hunter series...i'm on the second book the laughing corpse and they are alright. i hope they get better further into the series.

anyways, i think there are some must reads in the vampire genre of literature...and i certainly have not read everything out there so if there's anything you want to add in the comments, please feel free! i love recommendations.

but first! the book pictured above...i picked it up a long time ago, where, i cannot remember. the whole book is in german and that means i can't really read it, but i still love it. the illustrations are wonderful (including the super neat moving bat on each page corner)...the title in english reads, bad times for ghosts, and i believe it's also a episode of a tv show (maybe?).

back to vampire literature...here are my recommendations:

^o^ dracula by bram stoker
^o^ carmilla by j. sheridan le fanu
^o^ interview with the vampire by anne rice
(as well as the vampire lestat and the queen of the damned...don't bother with the rest)
^o^ the vampyre by john william polidori
^o^ varney the vampire or the feast of blood (a penny dreadful) by james malcolm rymer
^o^ the hunger by whitley strieber
^o^ salem's lot by stephen king
^o^ the historian by elizabeth kostova
^o^ let the right one in by
^o^ the demon lover by dion fortune
^o^ the vampire tapestry by suzy mckee charnas
^o^ our vampires, ourselves by nina auerbach - not literature, but critique

schlechte zeiten für gespenster by w.j.m. wippersberg
1984, benziger
illustrated by käthi bhend-zaugg

round up

forgotten bookmarks...finding some old note, piece of ephemera or bookmark is such a prize.

fine little day shares a lovely swedish children's book with illustrations by kerstin frykstrand.

what claudia wore is an adorable homage to the fashion references in the baby sitter's club books.

the hunting lodge shared a selection of illustrations from the japanese book an anatomical guide to monsters.

infinite summer currently has a dracula read-along going...they're on chapter 11 but have archives available for every other so far...such a great idea! in january they'll be reading roberto bolaño's 2666. (thanks to kyle's friend from ze facebook for the link)

i've also added a few links to the sidebar: international children's digital library ~ a journey 'round my skull ~ the book cover achive ~ the modern word ~ the literary gothic ~ never mind that; never mind that now ~ awful library books

round up

i have to apologize for my lack of posts of late...the tail end of summer has distracted me. i have lots of new (to me) stuff to share and promise to back with regular posts shortly. until then...a round up!

automatism's buffet always has fabulous literary inclusions...here are some that i've saved...

sarah waters' top 10 victorian novels...and i pretty much agree with her choices.

stephen smith's top 10 subterranean books...seems to me there'd be quite a few that one could add to this list...such as neil gaiman's neverwhere and haruki murakami's hard boiled wonderland and the end of the world (both of which are great books).

jessica duchen's top 10 literary gypsies...i think some non-literal (literally) gypsies could be interesting to ponder too...such as trilby and dracula.

linda buckley-archer's top 10 time travelling stories...some of these are now on my 'to read' list.

also...

61 essential postmodern reads: an annotated list chosen by a grouping of categories, such as, author as character, disrupts or plays with form, includes historical falsehoods and such...there are tons that could have been chosen and so many of them wonderful (albeit not for everyone)...but where is bret easton ellis' presence on this list? american psycho stands out in my mind...i think lists of mundane items is one of the devices of the postmodernist author.

dead poet's society via poetic oneirism...hear poets reading their poems...fabulous!

a lovely french medical book regarding the x-ray...at cori kindred

black*eiffel shares a vintage german copy of the brothers grimm

clever nettle shares a vintage storybook titled campire girls

meet me at mike's shares a favorite book, debbie learns to dance...i love the illustrations by marcel marlier.

the snail and the cyclops shares a box of sun...a wonderful book that captures the real essence of summer.